Sam Vincent Out in Charlotte

The Bobcats have fired Sam Vincent after one disappointing season in Charlotte. This seems a bit of a raw deal for Sam Vincent given that he only got one season to show what he could do.  While it was a disappointing season, they have the talent to be a playoff team in the East, the Bobcats did seem to be coming together towards the end and did win 8 of their last 14 games including wins in Toronto and LA, against the Lakers, and closing the season with a win at home versus the Sixers.

Vincent being fired, so soon after Larry Brown re-signed his post in Philly, has of course, led to speculation that Brown is going to be the next coach in Charlotte.  My gut reaction to this is that the firing of Vincent is nothing more than a PR move.  The ‘Cats are struggling to keep attendance numbers up and, in fact, saw attendance drop this year despite the fact they are playing in a fancy new arena.  Hiring Larry Brown gives the team some instant credibility and they already have enough talent on the roster to be a playoff team in the East and Brown’s track record of getting teams into the postseason sooner rather than later is a pretty good one.  The Bobcats need a postseason appearance if they want to build any kind of momentum and build a fan base in the city of Charlotte.

The big question would be whether Jordan’s ego would let Brown have input on personnel moves or whether Brown’s would acquiesce to letting Jordan call the shots.